The government has launched a universal cancer screening programme for women through its network of 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandir health and wellness centres, targeting cervical cancer via HPV DNA testing and breast cancer via clinical breast examination for all women aged 30-65.

India records approximately 130,000 new cervical cancer cases and 200,000 new breast cancer cases annually — among the highest in Asia — with the majority diagnosed at late stages when treatment is significantly less effective and more expensive. Early detection is estimated to improve five-year survival rates from 35 per cent to 80 per cent for both cancers.

The programme will conduct approximately 200 million screenings over its first five-year cycle, with HPV vaccination simultaneously expanded to adolescent girls as a primary prevention complement to adult screening.

Health workers at the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs — locally recruited female health assistants — will receive three months of additional training in sample collection, counselling, and referral protocols. Positive screens will be linked directly to district hospitals with confirmed gynaecological oncology capacity.